Lloyd Kahn is the editor-in-chiefof Shelter Publications, an independent California publisher.Shelter Publications specializes in books on buildingand architecture,as well as health and fitness.Lloyds latest book is Small Homes: The Right Size.For more info, see: www.shelterpub.comLloyd Kahn is the editor-in-chief of Shelter Publications, an independent California publisher. Shelter Publications specializes in books on building and architecture, as well as health and fitness. Lloyd’s latest book is Small Homes: The Right Size.For more info, see: www.shelterpub.com
Twitter: www.twitter.com/lloydkahn

This is Foster's account of 75,000 miles on the road, a lot of it on California and Baja California beaches, photographing all types of homes on wheels: pickup trucks with camper shells, vans, trailers, and motorcycles. It's surf-centric, and a book that flows as smoothly as the waves in San Juanico. This is Foster's tribe of nomadic wanderers, beach-oriented and minimalist. Expensive, but short run color books in small quantities are expensive to print. NOT available thru Amazon.Click here.(Foster's latest vehicle, a 6-speed, Toyota 4x4 with expandable lightweight camper shell, is in Tiny Homes on the Move -- it's the best vehicle I've ever seen for serious beach/surf/desert/on-and-off-raod travel.)

We drove down the coast Wednesday afternoon; there were practically gail force winds flattening the waves, swirling the sand on beaches. When we got to Davenport Landing, the wind had dropped, and in Santa Cruz, it was glassy (and flat).
I love Santa Cruz. Even with all the heavy duty changes since I lived there off and on in the '50s, it's still my kinda town. The temp and the water are 5-10 degrees warmer than San Francisco, just a touch of SoCal…makes me want to get on the beach, in the water.
That evening, my son Will took his 3-year-old Maceo on one of his (Will's) longboards, and the 3 of us skated down a gentle slope. Will put a pic of us on his Facebook page, here. A couple of his neighbors were out watching us and Will told them, I don't know if I'm more worried about my 3-year-old son or my 79-year-old dad.

Lloyd,
… Ed March is this kid from the sticks, down in south west England. He is a bit of a nutter, with a great attitude. He travels on a Honda C90. An old reliable tiny engined "step through" motorbike/scooter moped ? He has had a few adventures to bike rallies, then up to the arctic circle. Then -- he boxed it up and shipped it to Malaysia and rode it home. 14,000 miles across Asia, India and Europe. Its a truly epic journey.
I watched most of it compulsively on youtube. Then he did a kickstarter/crowdfunding appeal and managed to raise enough to get the videos edited up and released as a DVD.
To me he is a hero. Has great attitude and will go a long way.
Check him out: https://www.youtube.com/user/c90adventures
Enjoy
Rich (Jones)Below is one of Ed March's adventures. If you click on the above link, there are a bunch more. This guy is out there!

I saw this 10 years ago and just looked at it again. Dylan seems stiff and, as usual, unrevealing, not wanting to be pinned down or categorized—the Master Evader. He talks about destiny, and in the end, starts to smile a bit. Ed does a great job of interviewing a dodgy customer, and asks him why he still does it (touring, appearing) and Bob says,
Because I made a bargain with destiny…
...Ed: Who'd you make the bargain with?
Bob: With the chief commander.
Ed: On this earth?
Bob: On this earth and in the world we can't see.Poet for the ages…

I was all set to get a 12' Tarpon fishing kayak, a really nice boat, with lots of fishing accoutrements. But when I took it for a paddle, I discovered that a lot of accoutrements means a lot of weight, maybe 65 pounds vs. 45 for my old (trusty) 12' Ocean Kayak Scrambler. Too heavy for my not-functioning-fully-anymore shoulders. Also, the Tarpon has no rocker, as does the Scrambler; it's gonna pearl if it gets even near a wave. So I'll stick with the old guy on my clamming expeditions, but get a better paddle.

"Boogie boarders take a thrill ride Monday morning at The Wedge in Newport Beach, where waves measured about 10 feet high. The most powerful south swell of the summer have lifeguards on alert this week in Orange County, while surfers roam the coast in search of the best waves. The swell is mainly the product of a storm last week off the coast of Chile, with an extra kick from Tropical Storm Douglas last week off Mexico."Photo by Mindy SchauerClick here.

Driving north along the California coast, heading north from Mendocino, Hwy. 1 crosses the mountains north of Ft. Bragg (a way more real town than Mendocino) to join up with Hwy. 101. After you climb to the ridge top, there's maybe a 5-mile winding downhill until you get to the south fork of the Eel River. Looks like it would be great for experienced downhillers. Too steep for me, but for you guys who can slide and maneuver, it's a long downhill ride. How about full moon, 3 AM when traffic is scarce? Full safety gear including bright headlight and flashing red tail lights...
Once you hit the Eel, it's a few miles to Smithe Redwoods State Reservation, which has:
-Big deep swimming hole
-Old growth redwoods that are truly holy

I went paddling a few nights ago. Warm day, high tide. You can never tell what the ocean (or lagoon, lake, river) will be like until you get right there. So many variables: wind, tides, temperature, sunny or foggy or rainy, moon (and planetary) cycle, but the most important factor to me is the surface of the water. If it's glassy, I don't care about any of the rest of it. My (Joe Bark 12' Surftek) paddleboard skims across the water, I get a bow wave going, a joy to paddle.
I ended up taking a mud bath, for the first time in months. It's one of those things, like jumping under a cold waterfall, that you're always glad you did, but that the part of your brain concerned with comfort, resists. I told a couple of friends at the dock that's what I was going to do, so had to do it. Paddled a ways…shorty wetsuit off (not visible to anyone), smeared as much of my body as I could reach with mud, which in this case had sand in it,…let dry in sun a few minutes, then swam in a channel a bit, then washed it off. Boy did I feel good.
Got home, took outdoor solar shower, heated by nothin but sunshine…then shot of grappa…stylin…turned out to be exfoliating…spa treatment…skin really smooth afterwards…simple pleasures of life…so much you can do right around wherever you live…just look around…

"Burkina Faso is by no means an area frequented by tourists, but at the base of a hill overlooking the surrounding sun-drenched West African savannah lies an extraordinary village, a circular 1.2 hectare complex of intricately embellished earthen architecture. It is the residence of the chief, the royal court and the nobility of the Kassena people, who first settled the region in the 15th century, making them one of the oldest ethnic groups in Burkina Faso.
I came upon these rare photographs of the village from a dedicated Flickr user Rita Willaert who traveled to Tiébélé in 2009 (see all her photos of the village here). The village keeps itself extremely isolated and closed to outsiders, most likely to ensure the conservation and integrity of their structures and to protect the local traditions. There is interest in developing the site as a cultural tourism destination to generate economic resources for conservation but it is a delicate process.…"Click here.Photo by Rita Willaert